Become a crime scene investigator! Learners model Dawn Mission scientists, engineers, and technologists and how they use instrumentation to detect distant worlds. After a briefing to build context, students explore interactions between different... (View More) frequencies/wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum and matter as they investigate the different ways scientists gather and understand remote sensing data, using Dawn instruments as examples. This module is organized around a learning cycle, engaging students through several experiences to activate students' prior knowledge and assess conceptual understanding, informing next steps. (View Less)

This is a lesson about detecting atmospheres of planets. Learners will explore stellar occultation events (by interpreting light curves) to determine if an imaginary dwarf planet “Snorkzat” has an atmosphere. The activity is part of Project... (View More) Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System. (View Less)

These short leader guides are designed for a novice user to pick up and implement the activities with ease. They address a range of topics all related to asteroids - most especially Asteroid Vesta. Activities are tagged to quickly find ones that are... (View More) active (involves movement), edible (involves food), calm (stationary) or informative (about NASA's Dawn mission and Vesta). (View Less)

This is a lesson about visual spectra. Learners will explore different ways of displaying visual spectra, including colored "barcode" spectra, like those produced by a diffraction grating, and line plots displaying intensity versus color, or... (View More) wavelength. Students learn that a diffraction grating acts like a prism, bending light into its component colors. The activity is part of Project Spectra, a science and engineering program for middle-high school students, focusing on how light is used to explore the Solar System. (View Less)

In this activity, students experiment to test the hypothesis that Mars was once hotter. The activity requires some advance preparation by the teacher: the day before the activity, need to place a plastic bottle filled with water in the freezer.... (View More) Materials needed include plastic bottle of water and thermometer. It is a companion piece to a CD about the exploration of Mars that uses song and drama to tell the story of Spirit and Opportunity, NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers, and their mission to search for signs of ancient water. (View Less)

This article describes an indoor, game-type demonstration, incorporating physics (EM wave modulation), math (binary codes), space technology, and music to show how spacecraft put information into the radio signals they send back to Earth. The... (View More) article was originally written for and published by the International Technology Education Association in its journal, The Technology Teacher. It is now archived on The Space Place Web site. (View Less)

This is a activity about how reaction wheels affect spacecraft orientation (attitude). Learners will observe Newton's Third Law (action-reaction) in the changes caused by a reaction wheel acting upon a spacecraft suspended from a support wire and in... (View More) the ensuing interfering forces from the wire support. The experiment includes an option for demonstration and for learner investigation. Notes about gyroscopes are included. (View Less)